Crimea’s banks refuse to exchange Ukrainian hryvnya

Russian banks in Crimea refuse to exchange Ukrainian hryvnya, as the transition period in the region ended Jan 1, 2015.

“Operations on buying and selling Ukrainian hryvnyas for Russian rubles were conducted during the transition period” - Russian RNKB bank said to Kryminform.

This comes days after currency exchange offices which used to operate in Crimea for years were closed, following Russia’s decision to ban their operation in the region. As for mainland Russia, exchange officers are forbidden there from 2010.

Following Crimea's unification with Russia in March, the Russian authorities declared a "transition period" in Crimea, which ended on January 1.

All the Ukrainian banks closed their branches in Crimea following peninsula’s unification with Russia in March.